5 Android Fitness Applications To Help You Stay Fit And Get Into Shape

People who are not active tend to have more health problems than those who lead an active healthy lifestyles. Not everyone has the athletic ability or stamina to play a sport regularly, but many of you may have the urge. If money is tight and motivation is low, you may not want to pay for a gym membership you won’t use.

Android owners have a way to work up to that 5km run or other fitness goals. Below are several applications to get you off the couch and get that heart of yours beating fast… in a good way. Keep in mind that like any other strenuous activity, you won’t want to just get off the couch and take on a half-marathon. You need to take baby steps and work up to the goal you set for yourself.

1. Jefit

Jefit is my personal favorite application. I bought the paid version after using the free app for a couple of months. The Jefit app tracks your entire workout from cardio to weight training. If you sign up for a free account, you can search for routines other people have shared. The free account also let you sync and display your progress.

If you are new to working out, there is an animation plugin you can download to show you the movement required for each exercise. The built-in timer helps you keep your rest times consistent and your heart rate up.

2. Push ups

The Push ups app helps you train to do a set number of push ups. I have used this application and it worked out fantastic. It works by creating a regimen based on how many push ups you can do initially and how many you want to do.

If you are truthful telling it how many you can actually do, the plan they set up is pretty accurate. You will do the push ups every other day. When you are completed, it will ask if it was too hard, too easy or just right and make adjustments based on your feedback.

If you really like this way of building up to a single exercise goal, there is also Sit ups and Squats. All three of them work the same way.

3. Allsport GPS

Allsport GPS is one of many GPS trackers. However, Allsport offers sport specific tracking. The usual sports are in there like biking and walking. There are others that you wouldn’t expect to see, like cross-country skiing, skateboarding, trail running, and parkour.

Using Google Maps, you can track your run. You can decide what you want to track: distance, time and resting time are just a few of your choices. You can see your pace, time and distance on an easy to read display.

4. Heart Rate Monitor

Regardless of your health goals, keeping tabs on your heart rate is a good habit to get into. This heart rate monitor uses the camera on your Android phone to figure out and measure your pulse. It is surprisingly accurate. Simply start the heart rate monitor application and cover the camera lens with your finger tip. In a few seconds, the app will have your heart rate measured.

5. Runner’s World Smartcoach

This is a great application for training as a runner. Smartcoach sets up a training routine to help you get to your goal of running a 5k or something longer like a marathon. This app is more geared towards someone who has a bit of training under their belt. However, you could always change the distances to better suit your beginner training.

Conclusion

I tried to give you a good assortment of applications, not just a bunch geared toward running or weight lifting. The overall reason for using any fitness application is to track your results. If you can’t see progress, you may lose interest because you cannot see your gains.

I took a look at Runkeeper. It looks like a pretty cool training app. I like how it has a realistic training plan for beginners. In the coaching tab, the 20 minute easy workout that you can edit will be better for a person (like me) who isn’t in the best cardio shape.